A Child Is Born
by L Jerome
Summary: Written for a Hiddleston fanfic contest: Tom Hiddleston wakes to the realization that he's not only expecting but in labor. Yeah, I know it's weird but I promise it'll all make sense. Tom/OC, one shot, het mpreg, T for mentions of childbirth


"Tom, please open your eyes… Can you hear me?" a worried female's voice said in the distance. He knew that voice…Margo.

"Don't worry. He going to be fine… Just hang on mate. Everything's going to be alright…" He recognized that voice too. Hemsworth…definitely Chris Hemsworth.

Although his eyes were closed, the first thing Tom Hiddleston registered was that he was somewhere bright. He could also sense from the tone in his wife's voice that something was very wrong. He tried to think back to what had happened before he got here. It had been a regular day; Tom had a day off from filming so he and Margo had spent the early part of the afternoon visiting Chris, Elsa and their young daughter, India. But after that, everything was just a blur. He didn't remember there being an accident, nor being ill; yet he couldn't think of how he possibly got to this point. Forcing his eyes open, he soon realized he was laid out on a stretcher rolling down a corridor with Margo and Chris following on either side.

"Wh…where am I?" Tom mumbled as he tried to process what was happening.

"Tom! Thank god you're awake!" Margo exclaimed, worry etched on her face. "You blacked out on the way to the hospital."

"Hospital?" So there was an accident. But he wasn't in any pain…at least not that he was aware of. Not to mention that the two of them seemed perfectly fine. "What happened? Why am I…" Looking down, his voice trailed off as he realized that his stomach had nearly tripled in size.

"What in the heck is going on?!" he nearly screamed. "What's wrong with me?!"

To his surprise, Margo was looking at him like he had gone crazy. "You don't remember? You went into labor at Chris's."

"Labor?! But I'm a man!"

"I'm perfectly aware of that."

"No, you don't understand. I'm a male. There's no way I could be pregnant, much less in labor. It's not physically possible!"

She didn't respond to his declaration; only casting a worried look at Chris. "He doesn't remember anything…" she mumbled.

"It's just stress. I went through the exact same thing with India. It's perfectly normal."

"'When you went through it with India?!'" he exclaimed. "So you're saying you…that you actually…oh my god…" He pressed his hands to his forehead in frustration; this was all too much to take in. Yet as the stretcher moved further down the corridor passing several other men who seemed to be in the same predicament, maybe it was actually… No… It couldn't be possible. Turning to Margo, he grabbed hold of her hand. "Darling, listen to me. There's got to be some mistake. There's no way I could…" His sentence stopped short as an intense wave of pain rolled through his stomach, wrapping around him with an iron grip. Placing a hand to his rounded stomach, he was surprised to find that the once soft flesh was now hard under his touch, followed by the growing feeling of something wet between his legs.

"I…I think something just popped…"

Chris and Margo exchanged a look, both knowing exactly what was happening as Tom's free grabbed onto to the side of the bed, panting as the next surge grabbed hold.

"Just hang on a little bit longer. We're almost there." he heard Margo say as his grip tightened around her hand.

**_*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_**

It was all Tom could do to keep from panicking as the stretcher rolled into the maternity ward; the reality of the situation finally starting to sink in. After all, he was a guy. There was no way that this could even be physically possible. Surely it was a mistake. But as the latest pang finally started to release its grip and bringing sweet relief, maybe the idea wasn't as absurd as he actually thought. As the stretcher then rolled into a private room, a young nurse who introduced herself as 'Kate' was already there waiting to help move him to a hospital bed. Swinging his legs over the side, he started to get to his feet with Margo's help. But as his feet touched the floor, the next surge ripped through him, bringing a silent cry from his lips as his fingers dug into Margo's shoulder. As he struggled to breathe through the pain, the nurse was quickly by his side, helping to shift him closer towards the bed.

"Cutting it kind of close, aren't we Mr. Hiddleston?" she said with a smile.

But he could hardly hear her through the pain, letting out a moan as he felt something shift further down at its peak.

"Something's coming…" he managed through grit teeth.

"Seems like this one's not hanging around."

God, not her too… "This joke's gone on far enough! I'm telling you, I'm not pregnant!" Tom snapped, all usual pleasantries politeness gone as he struggled to breathe.

It wasn't long after they had settled him in that Kate had returned with the doctor-on-call, a kind, middle aged woman named Dr. Smythe who after a brief introduction and seeing Tom's current physical state, requested that he'd allow her to do an exam to check on his progress to which he reluctantly agreed. Maybe that would finally prove to everyone that he wasn't losing his mind; that he wasn't pregnant as they were claiming and that he had some other ailment. Certainly not a thought he wanted to entertain, but better that than…

"He's complete." Dr. Smythe's words broke through his thoughts.

Not the response he was expecting. "W-what did you say?" he quietly asked, sure that he could feel the color draining from his face.

Looking up, Dr. Smythe gave him a smile. "You're complete." She repeated. "It's a good thing they got you here when they did; I doubt this baby would have waited much longer." She then turned to Kate. "Can you go get a warming table from down the hall and help me set up for delivery?"

_Delivery…_

The doctor's words echoed in his head. This was happening. This was actually happening. They were at a hospital, he was in labor, and they were about to have a… "Oh god…" he moaned as he covered his face with his hands; partially to hide his panic from the others and partially to escape from the latest contraction that had wrapped itself around his mid-section. Glancing over at Margo, she by comparison, didn't seem to be nearly as nervous as he was. In truth, she bore all the excitement of a soon-to-be mother; as if she had been waiting all her life for this moment.

Wishing the two of them good luck, Chris headed off to the waiting room to call Luke as Dr. Smythe proceeded to start getting all the necessary items together for the delivery.

Meanwhile, Margo took Tom's hand in hers as she sat down on the bed next to him, giving it a gentle squeeze of excitement.  
"This is it. We're about to be parents."

"I can't…I can't do this." Tom mumbled, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. "I can't remember…

"Sure you can." Margo said softly as she ran her fingers through his ginger curls. "We've been to all the classes and preparing for this moment for a long time. And I'm going to be right here to help you…"

"No. I mean, I can't remember any of this." he said, his eyes intensely focused on hers and trying to fight back the tears. "I don't remember getting pregnant or us going to classes or going into labor or…or any of it…" He swallowed hard, trying to get the lump back down his throat.

"Oh Tom… It's going to be alright." She said as she wrapped him in her embrace, letting his rest his head on her shoulder as tears finally pushed through. "Everything's going to work out. Once you see our little girl, it'll all come back. You'll love her as soon as you see her."

"See!" he cried. "I didn't even remember that we're having a girl…"

There was hardly time to say anything else as another contraction quickly grabbed hold of him, leaving him clinging on to Margo's shoulders for dear life and begging for the pain to just go away.

**_*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_**

"I can't… I can't do it anymore…"

"Yes you can. You were so close with that last one. Just hang on a little longer."

"No…" He mumbled as he tossed his head against the pillow. "Too tired…" Though he doubted even a year of sleep would be enough…

"Dr. Smythe, her heartbeat…"

"Grab the oxygen mask. He's been going at it for over an hour now. Let him rest for the next contraction; try to build up his strength. They both need to…"

It's been said that the best way to describe childbirth is basically like forcing a small watermelon through a drinking straw…

That wasn't even the half of it.

He had never been told of the pain, the unbearable pressure, the feeling that you're liable to be torn in two, the 'having your knees pulled as far back as they could to your chest while being bent in half and listening to someone counting to ten more times than an episode of Sesame Street' part of it…only to start the whole process over again on the next contraction. It was a wonder to him that anyone would ever choose to do this more than once…

But that wasn't the biggest thing on his mind. Not by a long shot. Their child was only minutes away from being born, but he had no feeling for this baby. And that worried him. What if Margo was wrong? What if he couldn't remember? How could he care for a child that until about an hour ago he didn't remember existed?

Trying to catch his breath before the next contraction, he barely noticed as Kate placed an oxygen mask over his face.

"What's this for?" He asked weakly.

"Heart rate is dropping more than we'd like during contractions." she replied. "Try to take some deep breaths."

"Mine?"

"No; the baby's. She's having some trouble tolerating delivery…"

Hearing that the baby's heart rate was low put his senses on high alert as he tried to push himself up by his elbows to look at the doctor. "What? What's going on? What's wrong with my baby?" he asked, slightly surprised with his own self at the fact that it was the first time he had ever called her 'my'.

Dr. Smythe tried to mask the concern in her voice as she looked towards the various machines. "Some drops during delivery is normal, but her heart rate isn't coming back up as fast as it should be. She's not in distress, but the sooner we can get her delivered, the better."

That's what did it. He wasn't going to let this baby…no…their baby…come to any harm. Not if he had anything to do with it. As he felt the next contraction starting, he reached for Margo's hand and nodded. This was it. Knowing the routine, he took a deep breath and pushed down hard, determined now more than ever to get this baby born quickly.

"That's it Tom!" Dr. Smythe praised, encouraged by his sudden progress. "Keep on going just like that."

Blowing away the spent breath, he took another and pushed again, letting out a growl as he could feel something shifting further down than it had so far..

"She's right there!" Margo could hardly contain the excitement in her voice as she watched from her position at his side. "I can see her head! Oh god Tom, she's got your curls…"

Hearing that, he managed a chuckle. "The poor thing…Mmmm…" he moaned as his expression changed to a grimace. "There's the next one…"

And he was gone again, deep in in the throws of the pain as he struggled to see this thing through. Voices swirled around him past the sound of blood roaring in his ears; the doctor and Kate encouraging him to keep going, his wife whispering in his ear how much she loved him. Somewhere past the haze, he could hear someone telling him to breathe, followed by pain again that someone said was shoulders…

Then suddenly…relief.

Exhausted, he let himself fall back against Margo's shoulder; his eyes tightly shut as he gasped for breath. It was the feeling of something being placed on his chest that opened them once again; a tiny, squirming newborn looking at him wide blue eyes before deciding that she didn't care much for her new surroundings and voiced it with a rather loud cry.

Then the tears started for him as well; partially from relief that he was sure now that she was okay, but mostly for the fact that this tiny life, this perfect blend of Margo and himself that indeed already shared his unruly curls…was really theirs…

"Hi. I'm your dad." he whispered and marveled at how natural it already felt to say it. "I'm your daddy. My god, you're so beautiful…" Beaming, he looked over to Margo, tears already streaming down her cheeks. "We did it. We actually did it."

"What do you mean 'we'? You did all the work, I was just the cheering squad." she chuckled before planting a kiss on his temple. "I'm so proud of you…"

"Thanks…." he managed to choke out before turning his attention back to their daughter, her cries already starting to calm as she was covered with a blanket to start cleaning her up. He couldn't stop himself from marveling over every little thing about her; how thick her hair already was, that he could see his and Margo's features in her face,and the delicate pucker of her lips. And as her tiny fingers wrapped around his large one, he already knew he was wrapped around her little finger. Funny, he thought, how Margo had been right. It really was love at first sight and he knew that he'd be there to protect her from this moment on.

"My god…"

"What?"

"We're…we're a family…"

**_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_**

With a start, Tom sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath as he looked around the bedroom. The lamp on his nightstand cast the only light in the room, leaving it wrapped in a soft glow. And laying on his chest, a copy of "A Child Is Born"; a book that Margo had purchased early on in her pregnancy that he soon remembered he had started thumbing through earlier that evening.

'Well that explains the crazy dream… I really need to start watching what I read before bed.' he thought to himself as he set the book on the table before turning off the light.

Settling down in the covers, his gaze turned to Margo's sleeping form laying next to him, no doubt dreaming of their soon-to-be born child as her hand gently rested on the growing bulge of her stomach.

After that dream, he couldn't possibly imagine anybody wanting to go through that more than once. And yet here she was; taking it on without a second thought; the morning sickness, the mood swings, all so that they could have a family. And he loved her all the more for it.

Wrapping his arms about her, he smiled as she leaned in closer, a contented sigh escaping her lips as she rested her head against his chest.

"Tom, you okay?" she mumbled, her voice drowsy from sleep.

"Yeah… Just a crazy dream."

"What? The one where you woke up as Loki?"

His hand flew to his stomach and he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized nothing was there.

"No…I…I was pregnant…"

That caught her attention. She raised her head enough to give him a look. "What exactly have you been putting in your tea Tom?"

"Fair enough." he chuckled as she settled back into his arms, smiling as he'd occasionally feel their child attempt to move in a more comfortable position. "Thank you…" he said after a moment.

"For what?" she yawned.

"For…for everything. For doing all this for me…for us, so that we can have a family. You're the most amazing person I've ever known and I love you." he said as he pressed his lips to the top of her head, breathing in the sweet scent of her shampoo.

"I love you too… And Tom?"

"Yeah?

"Whatever it is you're putting in you tea, you can have as much of it as you want."

**_-The End- _**


End file.
